Maintaining blinds: 10 things you need to know

With many different styles available, blinds are a fantastic way to dress your windows. Take your pick from designs which look great, and give yourself ultimate control over privacy and light levels in your home.

To keep your blinds in tip top shape, it's important to maintain them with regular dusting and cleaning. If the cord becomes tangled, or the blind doesn’t lower properly, essential repairs will need to be made. Whether you’re cleaning, need help repairing venetian blinds or are wondering how to fix blind cords, follow these top 10 tips to keep your window dressings looking great.

Dust all blinds regularly

The slats and fabric folds of blinds catch dust like every other surface in your home, so they’ll need regular dusting to keep them looking their best. Use a soft microfibre cloth or duster to keep them dust-free, or vacuum gently using a soft upholstery attachment to avoid damaging your blinds. Wipe from one side of the blind to the other in one clean sweep and aim to clean them once a week to keep everything fresh.

Clean wooden blinds with care

If you have wooden blinds in your bathroom or kitchen, the splashes they pick up might mean they need a little more attention. Plus, they might stain easily because of the porous nature of wood. However, with a little warm soapy water and a damp microfiber cloth, you can wipe away any stains. Dry them quickly after you’re done to avoid warping.

Be gentle with fabrics

Stubborn stains can be difficult to remove from fabric blinds, so do follow the instructions on the care label before you begin. A damp cloth and a little stain remover may achieve success, but be careful not to damage the fabric in the process. Dry cleaning may bring peace of mind, and a more consistent result.

Maintain vertical blinds

Relatively easy to look after, the runners that hold your vertical blinds on their track often just need a regular wipe clean with a damp cloth. To maintain a smooth squeak-free movement, unclip the louvres from the brackets to access and clean the head rail itself, and lubricate the winding mechanism with silicon spray to prevent it from becoming stiff.

Untange cords

While you’re doing more general cleaning and dusting, check the cords on your blind and untangle them if they’ve become twisted and knotted. Slightly tangled cords won't affect the functionality of your blinds, but if left they may become steadily more entwined until they prevent your blinds from opening and closing smoothly.

Repairing vertical blinds

Sometimes the material at the top of vertical blinds can be damaged by opening the blinds too quickly or by the blinds being pulled too hard. Vertical blinds are attached by a hook to a bracket on the head rail, and may benefit from extra support around the holes. Using vane savers can add extra support, and allow restored slats to be easily hung once more.

Restore roman blinds

Repairing roman blinds is relatively easy. There’s a pretty simple method of returning them to their former glory. Whether you need to replace broken rings or rethread with new cord, always lay the blind face down fully extended before you begin. Trace the journey of the old cord with the new cord through all the rings, tying all knots carefully so that the blind will function fully once repaired.

Rethread a roller blind chain cord

Occasionally the ball-and-chain style cords on roller blinds can come off the inner mechanism, but repairing roller blinds is a simple process as they are easy to fix. Remove the chain mechanism from the rolled up blind, then remove the screw and gently pull the cap to reinsert the chain cord. Then replace the cap, screw and wheel mechanism to complete the repair.

Fix venetian blinds

If your slats fail to lower, take the gentle approach when repairing Venetian blinds. Bring the lift cord level with the head rail and pull gently. If this doesn't work, you'll need to remove the blind from the window frame, and push the locking pin in the head rail to disengage the locking mechanism.

Threading a new cord

With regular wear and tear, the cord of your Venetian blind may fray or snap, but you don’t always need to replace the blind – just get a new cord. You could even tie the new cord to the bottom of the old cord, so that it pulls the new cord into place as you remove the old one.

Blinds can bring style and practicality to your home, but they can occasionally need a little TLC. If you’re after more tips on looking after your blinds, click here for more practical posts.